Perfect Thanksgiving
by emackenzie
Summary: Veronica tries to make it perfect for everyone, but when she can't, it's up to Logan to save the day.


Perfection wasn't too much to ask for, that and normal. All she wanted was one normal day. They all deserved it, after everything they had all been through. Every lie, murder, accusation, rapes, they all deserved one perfectly normal day, and she'd be damned if they didn't get it today.

The small apartment was warm and filled with the sweet aroma of cooking. The sounds of the yearly football game easily filled the room, alongside the laughs of everyone there.

"This is amazing." Wallace said clapping his friend on the shoulder. "I don't know how to managed to get everyone in here."

Veronica had spent more time rearranging what little furniture they possessed, than she had actually done preparing the food.

"He's right Veronica, I never thought we had this much room." Keith teased from his spot at the corner of the counter.

"Never underestimate the power of a Mars on a mission." Veronica beamed at the two men. "The turkey should be about done. The timer went off for the potatoes, and it only needed about 5 minutes after that."

"Have you ever actually cooked a turkey?" Piz laughed, his eyes still glued to the small screen.

"No, but I looked it up online, and it didn't seem very hard. I stuffed it, and buttered it, and everything else." Veronica didn't act offended.

"Well let's pull this bird out and see!" Keith was proud of his daughter. He had watched her aimlessly while she worked over this meal, wanting to get everything perfect and right. This was after all their first real thanksgiving since her mother had left, and their lives had all changed. He knew that this meant more to her than to the others.

Veronica stood back and watched as Wallace opened the oven, and turned to look at her with a confused look, his eye brows pulled together and forehead wrinkled.

"What?" she asked, looking in the oven, and seeing what was causing that look. "You've got to be kidding me!" she nearly screamed, slamming the small door shut. This wasn't fair, this wasn't what she had planned. She could feel her eyes water with disappointment, her emotions stronger than she wanted. How could the oven not be working?

Logan didn't make it a habit to drive by his ex girlfriends house on his way home, or when he couldn't sleep, or when he hadn't seen her for days, it just sort of developed after awhile. He knew it was pointless, and it always took him out of his way, but he did it anyways. That's what surprised him, why where all the lights on in their bottom apartment at 3 AM?

He knew Veronica, he'd like to think he knew her better than most. And he knew their cars, he could pick them out anywhere, and because of that he knew Keith Mars wasn't at home. It wasn't a surprise, not really. Logan had heard rumors that the former sheriff was dating again, and he knew Keith's past of leaving his young blond daughter at home while he chased down the bad guys.

The surprise was that Veronica was still up at this hour. He took his chances and parked in Keith's spot before jumping out and heading into the complex. With a quick soft knock he stood and waited for the footsteps her could hear.

"Back Up, move!" she ordered from the other side of the door. "You big bum, I can't open the door."

Logan smirked.

"Wallace I already told you-" Veronica stopped short when she threw the door open. "Logan."

"I saw the lights, and that your dad's car was gone. I just wanted to check in." Logan ran a hand through his hair. Maybe checking in on her at 3 in the morning wasn't the brightest idea. Veronica hated it when people thought she needed their help, she hated Logan for that.

"Yeah, no, I'm preparing for tomorrow." She yawned, covering his mouth with the back of her hand, showing him the flour and apron she wore.

"Baking?" he asked. "Did I forget something important on my calendar?"

"I've got to get the pie crust." She waved at him leaving the door open for him to follow her through. "You got the invitation, so I don't know why you're acting surprised."

"What invitation?" Logan asked, trying to figure out what it was he had missed.

"Dick." Veronica sighed. She knew better than to leave a message with Dick.

"Well that explains a lot." Logan smirked.

"Thanksgiving dinner, here, tomorrow, well today. I hope you can come."

"The last dinner I had at your house you wouldn't let me speak." Logan reminded her.

"Yeah, well not much has changed, but still. You shouldn't spend it alone, and when was the last time you had a real thanksgiving dinner?"

"Believe it or not, never." Logan smiled at her. "It wasn't normal in my house, dad was on set, mom was drunk, and Trina was Trina."

"Even more reason to come, check it out, see why so many families swear by it." Veronica smiled up at him.

"I am not really one to conform, plus it's based off the idea that we actually helped the Native's when in reality we imprisoned them, and killed them."

"Logan, after everything we've been through, every bad thing that has happened, we deserve this, we have earned it. And I will go through hell and high waters to make sure it's perfect, for everyone!" she stated, pushing blond hair out of her face. She wasn't going to let him ruin this for everyone. "One normal thing, that's all I want."

"Okay." Logan nodded at her before turning to leave her. "I'll see you for dinner."

"Of course you show up now. What is it with you two? Are there like signals you shot up for each other or something?" Parker rolled her eyes as the group looked at Logan.

Logan stood in the doorway surviving the damage. The small apartment looked different, even compared to what it was just hours before when he had dropped by. "What happened?" he asked, looking to Mac and Wallace.

"Dinner didn't turn out the way she hoped." Mac said softly, motioning to the still raw bird.

"She took off, and Keith went after her." Wallace informed him.

"She's never even cooked a turkey before, so I'm not surprised." Parker commented with an eye roll.

"You think she was doing this for herself?" Logan asked, stepping into the apartment. He knew how much Veronica had wanted this, for all of them. "We've got everything but a turkey?" Logan asked, reaching out to touch the cold bird.

"And the host." Piz added. "I knew I should have made other plans, or just gone home. Today pretty much blows."

"This is fixable." He said tightly. Being around Piz was still hard for him, even though he knew they were no longer together, the kid still annoyed him just at sight.

"Let's just see how you're going to throw your money around and fix this one." Piz sighed.

"I will not let you ruin this for her." Logan shouted, turning around to and pushing the young man back against the wall. "She wants this, and I'm sure as hell going to give it to her!"

"You can't buy her this." He shouted back.

"Maybe, but I won't let you ruin it. So either pull your head out of your ass, or leave. Cause I won't sit back and let you take this whole day down in flames."

"Logan, the bird isn't cooked, and it's already late." Mac sighed when he came back into the small kitchen area. "I called my mom, and she said that it takes hours to cook a turkey."

"Well then we're not going anywhere for hours." Logan said looking at the oven. "But I don't think the problem was Ronnie, I don't think of oven is getting hot enough."

"Yeah, that's what Mr. Mars said." Wallace told them. "I could take it back to my place and cook it. My mom is over there, making pumpkin rolls."

"I've got a better idea, but I don't think she's going to like it." Logan said running his hand down his face looking at her two best friends. "In fact I know she's going to hate it, but it'll be more traditional."

"If it means we get to eat, I'm all for it." Weevil stated.

"Here's the address, you guys take the food, get the turkey in the second you get there, and set everything up. I'll go find the Mars clan." Logan said scribbling down an address and handing it to Mac.

Nothing about this place was small and cramped like it was at the Mars apartment. In fact it was the opposite, they all felt like they had room to move without bumping into each other. Given there wasn't nearly as much furniture, and there was no TV to watch the football game on, but they didn't seem to mind. They were able to move around and mingle freely now that everyone had shown up. Mac, Wallace, Alicia, Darrly, Piz, Parker, Dick, Cliff, Weevil, his grandmother and two younger brothers all milled around the large open room, trying to follow Logan's requests.

"It's been almost two hours, you think he found Keith and V?" Wallace asked his mother.

"Honey, I'm sure they are fine. Veronica is strong headed, it's just taking awhile to get her here." She assured her son.

"That shouldn't be the question." Mac sighed looking at Wallace. "Who's house is this?"

"Go away Logan." Veronica sighed from her spot on the cold grass. The sun was setting, and she had ruined yet another day. She couldn't get anything right.

"Maybe I'm here to pay my respects?" Logan asked nodding towards the headstone. It had been a long time since he had gone to visit Lilly, but he knew that Veronica did regularly.

"It's like there's no escaping." Veronica mumbled as Logan lowered himself to the ground next to her.

"You're tired." He commented looking at her face. She was useless when she was overly tired.

"I'm an epic failure." She could feel the tears sting her eyes again. She knew she was tired, and it was making her more emotional than normal. But she had put so much into today, she had gotten everyone's hopes up, and it hurt to think she let them all down.

"We both know that's not true." Logan smiled. "I've got something I want to show you."

"Logan, now really isn't the time."

"I think now is the perfect time. It's Thanksgiving after all." Logan smirked bumping her shoulder. "Come on, I think you're going to like it, for the most part."

To say she was surprised when they pulled into the long driveway would be an understatement. She was tired, and very confused.

"Why is Wallace's car here?" she asked. "And isn't that my dads?" she knew it was. She knew all the cars that were parked outside the large home. But what confused her even more was that Logan was pulling into the garage. When had it even opened?

"All part of the surprise Ronnie." Logan smiled at her.

Veronica followed him into the house and was quickly met by the smell of turkey, the one that had been lacking in her own home hours ago.

"Logan, what is going on? Whose house is this?" she demanded.

"You wanted a perfect Thanksgiving dinner, and you're getting it." Logan told her as they came around the corner into the large open kitchen and dining area, showing her the group of people waiting for them.

"Logan-" he cut her off.

"I know, this isn't what you wanted, I over stepped, it's not homey. This isn't what you had pictured. I get it Veronica, but this, this is our normal." Logan had already heard this conversation in his head.

"Would you shut up and listen?" she asked, hands on his hips, mouth tight with a frown.

"Why so you can yell at me?"

"No, so I can thank you!" Veronica shot back at him. "You always come to my rescue, and I couldn't be more thankful for that."

His jaw dropped a little as he looked at her in shock.

"Thank you Logan, for saving me once again." She smiled softly and took a small step closer to him, reaching out she cupped his cheek in her hand and pushed herself up on her tippy toes to kiss his other. "You made today perfect, you always do."

"I like to think of it as my favorite past time." His hand rested on her hip, somewhere it longed to be.

"Just one thing." Veronica said biting on her lower lip, looking up at him.

"Hmm?" he asked smiling down at her. The physical contact with her was something that was overwhelming him right now.

"Whose house is this?"

He wanted to respond with ours, everything he had he wanted to be hers as well. But he knew better, he had learned the hard way. "Right now, it's mine." He tucked the hair behind her ear. His mind filled with the feeling of touching her may have clouded his better judgment, but he knew he would have done it either way. He leaned in slowly, giving her time to figure out what he was doing, but he pressed his lips to hers, feeling her smile against his lips. "Best Thanksgiving ever."


End file.
